QUICK INFORMATION SERIES 


AMERICAN BAPTIST 
FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY 


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1. The Country 


URMA, the largest province of British 
India, is situated south of Assam and 
Tibet, between China and Siam on the 
east and the’ Bay of Bengal on the 
west. In area it is equal to New Eng- 
land and the Middle States, together 
; with Ohio and Indiana. Its popula- 
tion, now estimated at 10,000,000, is 
one nHy constantly increasing. 


Characteristics 

‘‘ Burma is the banner province of the British Empire, the 
brightest jewel in the royal diadem. There flows the Ira- 
wadi, with great ships upon its waters. It has forests of 
precious teak, mines of valuable metals, but best of all are 
its unfailing agricultural resources. There are no famines 
in Burma, but her staple product, rice, forms a vast and 
unfailing storehouse from which the starving peninsular 
people of India are fed. A million and a half tons of rice, 
worth $60,000,000, are annually exported from Burma.’’ 


2. The People 


There are over forty different racial divisions, but the 
short, thick-set, active Burmese comprise more than one half 
of the population. They are impulsive, fond of fun and 
laughter, and much given to shows of all kinds. Next in 
number come the Shans and Karens; all of these were origi- 
nally hill people, though now many of the latter live in the 
plains. The Karens have a great fondness for music; and 
the Shans have a peculiar aptness for trading. 


3. Religions 


Buddhism 
claims as adherents 6,000,000 of the inhabitants of Burma. 
Pagodas crown every eminence; shrines and monasteries are 
in every city. The greatest of these, the Shwe Dagon Pagoda 
in Rangoon, was recently regilded at a cost of $1,000,000, a 
striking proof that the faith is still firmly entrenched in the 
hearts of the people. They know no personal God; salva- 
tion is by good works; and zrvana, non-existence, is the 


Buddhist conception of heaven. 
\ 


Spirit Worship 

Some of the tribes, notably the Karens and the Kachins, 
are not Buddhists nor idolators, but spirit worshipers; that 
is, by their sacrifices they seek to appease the evil spirits, and 
so avoid the harm they might inflict. 

The Karens have some interesting traditions, and their 
stories of the creation, the fall of man, and the flood are 
strikingly like the Bible accounts. They said that their 
ancestors had the ‘‘ Book of God,’’ and they were looking for 
the white man to bring the book again. ‘These things made 
them much more ready to listen to the gospel when it was 


offered to them. 
Other Religions 


Considerable numbers of people from southern and western 
India have settled in Burma, and, of course, practise the. 
rites of Hinduism and Mohammedanism. There are over 
50,000 Mohammedans in Rangoon alone. 


4. Origin of the Mission 


An Unexpected Call 

The steps that led Baptists to take up mission work in 
Burma show some of the most wonderful leadings of God’s 
providence. On February 6, 1812, at Salem, Mass., five 
young men were ordained as missionaries to India, under 
the auspices of the American Board (Congregationalist). 
One of these was Adoniram Judson who, with his wife, Ann 
llasseltine, sailed for India a few days later. In January, 
1813, the surprising news reached Boston that Judson, by the 
independent study of the New Testament, had been led to 
accept Baptist views, and that he had been immersed in Cal- 


cutta. Ina letter to Dr. Thomas Baldwin he said, ‘‘ Should 
there be formed a Baptist society for the support of a mission 
in these parts, I should be ready to consider myself their 
missionary.”’ 
Organization 

This glad news flew swiftly. Baptists were aroused, en- 
couraged and united. A meeting was called, and on May 21, 
1814, at Philadelphia the Triennial Convention was organized, 
which later became the American Baptist Foreign Mission 
Society. Thus was laid the corner-stone of Baptist unity in 
America, and the first act of the new organization was to assume 
the support of Judson and the work in Burma, 


5. Early Trials and Heroism 


When Judson went to Burma it was not a British province, 
but a land of savage tribes ruled by a cruel king, hostile to 
allforeigners. This caused many trials and much suffering 
to the early missionaries. When trouble arose with the 
British the Burmans cast Judson and Dr. Price into prison. 
Their sufferings were intense, and but for the ceaseless care 
and devotion of Mrs. Judson they must have perished. 


Progress 
In spite of all afflictions the missionaries persevered, and 
after a time converts began to be received. The Burman 
Bible, the manuscript of which was at one time concealed in 
an old pillow to save it from destruction, was completed in 
1834. So accurate was it that very little revision has since 


been necessary. The Karens 


Ko Thah Byu, the robber chief, Judson’s Karen servant, 
was baptized in 1828, He became a remarkable evangelist, 
and led many of his people to Christ. Our most successful 
work has been among the Karens, thousands of whom have 
been gathered into prosperous churches. 


Other Tribes 
Besides work for the Burmans and Karens, missions are 
conducted among the Shans, Chins, Kachins, Talains, Eura- 
sians, Telugus and Tamils, and by means of many different 
dialects touch nearly all of the peoples and tribes included in 
the population. 


6. Development 


. We can now look back upon nearly one hundred years of mis- 
sion work in this country. What of the results? From one point 
of view it appears that there remains yet “much land to be pos- 
sessed.” On the other hand, when we consider the marvelous 
changes which have come in Burma, and the mighty forces, social, 
political and religious, which are at work today undermining the 
very foundations of heathenism, we praise God for what our eyes 
have seen and for what they are yet to behold in the near future. 

A strong evangelistic spirit pervades the churches and leads 
them constantly to reach out to the regions beyond. There are 
Christian homes of two and three generations, and Christian 
churches, large and small, somé of which have fine church build. 
ings erected by native contributions. There is a thoroughly or- 
ganized Christian educational system, from jungle school to 
theological seminary, including the only Christian college in 
Burma. Medical mission work also has been established, and 
the problem of self-support, which has been successfully solved 
in some fields, is being earnestly studied in all. The present 
ingathering among the tribes on the Chinese border offers a new 
and almost limitless prospect of expansion towards the east. 

An Appreciation 

Rev. Julius Smith, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, gives the following testimony to our work: | 

“The greatest missionary labors in Butma have been wrought: 
by American Baptists. From Adoniram Judson until the present 
generation of missionaries there has been an increasing force of 
faithful and heroic men and women who have devoted their lives 
to the redemption of Burma. It is only safe to say that the 


work of all other societies combined would not equal that done 
by the Baptists.” 


Contributions for the work of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society 
may be sent to any of the District Secretaries, or to the Treasurer, Box 41, 
Boston, Mass. 


Address the Literature Department, American Baptist Foreign Mission Society; 
Box 41, Boston, Mass., for the following: — 


Extra copies of this leaflet. Price per doz., 5 cents; per hundred, 25 cents. 

** Missions in Burma,’’ an historical sketch. Price, 15 cents. 

‘‘ Harvest Time at Kengtung.” Price, 3 cents, 

Catalog of Publications. Free. | 

Handbook of the Foreign Mission Society. Price, 20 cents. 

Annual Report of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. Free, on 
receipt of 8 cents for postage. 


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1002 3 Rev. Ed. 3M-Dec., 1912. 


